The start to the 2025 Formula 1 season has thrown up a number of storylines already yet while intrigue has been created by the drivers and their rivalries, the on-track racing action has left a lot to be desired.
Not all of the five races have been bad to watch – in Australia there was the weather conditions and the edge-of-your-seat, anything is possible vibe while in Bahrain, there was at least some strategic intrigue – even if the strategy didn’t play out exactly how it was expected to at the start of the race.
But China’s race was largely processional, the Japanese Grand Prix had little action and while Saudi Arabia was improved, the DRS and Max Verstappen’s first corner penalty were huge factors.
So what is up with the Formula 1 racing product in 2025 and will it improve in the Grand Prix to come?
Tyres partly to blame
After the Japanese GP, Mercedes driver and Grand Prix Drivers’ Association director George Russell called for a reaction to the lack of action – targetting Pirelli’s tyre offering on a Suzuka circuit that had been rejuvinated with new asphalt.
“These last two weekends [Japan and China], I think the tyre compounds have just been too hard for the resurfacing,” explained Russell.
More from the Singapore GP
Catch up with Total Motorsport's latest Singapore GP coverage, including Max Verstappen's victory at Marina Bay, Ferrari's costly strategy gamble, the full race classification, and the updated 2026 Formula 1 Drivers' and Constructors' Championship standings.
“It’s been an easy one-stop for both races, and that’s just really taken any fun from the strategy. I hope we can maybe react as a sport because we all finished where we started and there just wasn’t enough difference in the tyre degradation.”
But while resurfacing could be used an excuse for the tyres failing to help provide an exciting spectacle at those two events, there were no excuses in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The issue is, while tyre degradation used to see marbles stacking up on the edge of tracks, drivers are now forced to control the thermal degradation of the tyres’ internal structures, leading to one-stop races but with an inability to follow the cars in front.
With turbulent air left by leading cars – a lack of clean air and reduced downforce – the combined effects lead to a spike in tyre temperatures.
It’s turned F1 into a game of chess, yet unlike previous generations, the lack of degradation on the surface of the tyres means that the chess match is one dimensional – everyone is executing the same moves – because of the constrictive conditions.
End of regulation cycle playing a part?
When the current technical regulations were introduced, the lack of downforce being created from the top face of the cars meant that they could follow rival machines through corners more effectively.
That was proven in 2022 and 2023 but, as engineers across the grid have discovered legal ways of increasing downforce, the dirty air issue has slowly crept back into the equation.
It means that cars struggle to stay as close through fast, sweeping corners whilst also adding to the tyre temperature issues aforementioned. Perhaps these issues will be solved next season, but it’s hard to suggest that things could improve greatly this term.
Track layouts haven’t helped – especially in Suzuka, which is narrower than most others on the calendar. Miami next up will be more akin to Saudi Arabia and perhaps more dependent on DRS assistance to pass, while Imola will be back to the Japanese GP style of race, most likely.
F1 has one of the most intriguing title battles for years with the McLaren team-mates going toe-to-toe with each other for their maiden titles, with Max Verstappen keeping tabs on Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri despite Red Bull’s various difficulties.
What the championship won’t want to happen is for interest in that to dwindle because of a poor Formula 1 racing product on-track in 2025. How that can be fixed five races into a season is difficult to tell.
